Bitcoin price has fallen 1.4% from an intraday high of $66,300 to $65,368 as rising oil prices, renewed U.S.-Iran tensions, and regulatory uncertainty have pushed traders toward a more defensive stance.

The decline erased part of Bitcoin’s recent recovery and brought the $65,000 support level back into focus. Selling accelerated after BTC failed to hold above $66,000, while the Fear and Greed Index remained in neutral territory as traders weighed institutional inflows against fresh macroeconomic risks.

Political uncertainty added to the pressure after Senate Democrats objected to parts of the latest Digital Asset Market Clarity Act proposal. Polymarket traders had lowered the probability of the bill becoming law in 2026 to about 37% earlier this week as ethics rules and investor protections remained unresolved.

At the same time, BitMEX announced that it would close its derivatives exchange on Sept. 23 following a strategic review by parent company HDR Global Trading. The platform stopped accepting new registrations and asked customers to close positions and withdraw their assets before operations end.

Institutional flows have provided some support during the pullback. U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $69 million in net inflows on July 22, their seventh consecutive positive session, according to SoSoValue data. The seven-day streak brought combined inflows to about $1 billion, although July’s additions remained below the $6.9 billion withdrawn in May and June.

Oil and geopolitical risks are testing demand at $65,000

West Texas Intermediate crude climbed nearly 4% to around $90 a barrel on July 23, extending its advance for a fifth session. Brent rose close to $99 as attacks on Saudi oil tankers and threats against regional energy infrastructure raised fears of supply disruptions.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that a tanker caught fire after it was struck southwest of Al Shuqaiq. Yemen’s Houthi rebels later claimed attacks on two Saudi tankers, saying the vessels had violated their maritime blockade.

President Donald Trump also warned that Washington would strike an Iranian bridge or power plant each time Tehran attacked a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian authorities responded with threats against U.S.-linked infrastructure and energy assets across the region if Washington carried out those attacks.

Higher energy costs could keep U.S. inflation elevated and limit the Federal Reserve’s room to lower interest rates. Treasury yields may rise if traders expect tighter policy for longer, a development that could hurt demand for Bitcoin and other assets that do not offer a fixed yield.

Technology stocks have supplied another risk factor as investors assess Alphabet’s increased spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure. Weakness across high-growth equities often spills into Bitcoin because both markets attract investors who are sensitive to interest rates and changes in liquidity.

Bitcoin retains its rising channel while momentum weakens

Bitcoin’s 4-hour chart shows that price remains inside an ascending channel that began near $57,800 in early July. The lower trendline now runs through the $65,000–$65,400 area, making the current retest important for the short-term recovery.

A successful defense could allow BTC to revisit $66,800, where the latest rally stalled, followed by the channel ceiling near $67,500. The three-day liquidation heatmap shows concentrated short-liquidation between $66,500 and $67,300, with another large cluster near $68,100.

Commenting on the setup, crypto trader Ted Pillows noted that Bitcoin could advance toward $67,500–$68,000 as long as $65,000 holds.

“BTC is having a correction but still holding above the $65,000 level. As long as this holds, Bitcoin could rally towards $67,500–$68,000 soon.”

Analyst Lennaert Snyder offered a more cautious view after retaining a short position from the $67,000 region. Snyder identified a possible long entry only after a sweep below $65,000 and kept $68,100 as an upside target that would require confirmation.

Momentum has weakened on the 4-hour chart. The MACD line has dropped to 285.70, below the signal line at 398.23, while the histogram has moved to minus 112.53. The relative strength index has fallen to 53.52 from above 60, leaving momentum positive but no longer strong enough to confirm an immediate breakout.

On the daily chart, Bitcoin trades above the 20-day simple moving average at $64,232 and the 50-day average at $63,171. Those levels support the recovery structure, but BTC remains below the 100-day and 200-day averages at $70,044 and $72,602, respectively.

The daily Aroon Down reading has climbed to 85.71%, while Aroon Up has dropped to zero, which gives sellers control despite the recent rebound. A daily close above $66,800 would weaken that bearish reading and open a path toward $68,000 and the 100-day average.

Downside risk would increase if Bitcoin closes below the channel floor and loses $65,000. The heatmap places leveraged-long liquidity around $64,800, $64,500 and $64,000, while the moving averages create another support band between $63,170 and $64,230.

A break below $63,170 would invalidate the short-term recovery and expose $61,500, followed by the late-June floor near $59,000. Further oil gains, higher Treasury yields, or another escalation involving Iran could speed up that move even if ETF inflows remain positive.

Tokenization has become one of the fastest-growing corners of digital assets as traditional finance firms look to modernize fund infrastructure. Citi recently projected that tokenized securities could grow to roughly $5.5 trillion by 2030, while Boston Consulting Group and Ripple estimate tokenized assets across all asset classes could reach $18.9 trillion by 2033.

Creating blockchain-based tokens of existing funds could help broaden access to a new set of investors and open the door for fund shares to be used as collateral or plugged into other onchain financial applications.

For this particular case, KAIO provides the infrastructure that issues and administers Mubadala Capital’s tokenized fund. The company said Mubadala joins firms including Hamilton Lane, Brevan Howard and Laser Digital that use its platform to distribute investment products onchain, and currently has $144 million in tokenized funds on its platform.

“This strategy was built on differentiated access — to deal flow, to co-investment, to a global network that most investors cannot reach on their own,” Max Franzetti, head of Mubadala Capital Solutions, said in a statement. “Bringing it onchain extends that access to a new class of qualified investors without compromising the institutional discipline that defines how we invest.”

Brett Tejpaul, head of Coinbase Institutional, said that Coinbase adding the fund to its corporate balance sheet investment is a reflection of growing interest in regulated tokenized assets as treasury holdings. “As regulated assets become programmable, they can become part of a broader onchain economy that is more transparent, composable and accessible to qualified investors in eligible jurisdictions.”

Polymarket plans to challenge France’s decision to block its website, arguing the order prevents users from accessing its market probabilities even though trading from the country has been disabled since November 2024.

France’s National Gambling Authority ordered internet providers to block the platform last week, saying it exposed users to potential losses and offered markets that could be manipulated.

Polymarket said it would challenge the decision through the French legal system and called the order disproportionate because it covers users who visit the site for information rather than to trade.

“We were surprised at the ANJ decision to block access to our entire website because their measure targets people going to Polymarket purely for information,” the company said in a press release. 

“We are proud that most people come to Polymarket solely to learn the probability of future events relevant to their everyday life with no intention to trade,” the company added. “Prediction markets help source truth.”

The dispute turns in part on how Polymarket’s contracts should be classified. The company describes them as blockchain-based financial instruments traded directly between users, with prices set by market activity.

The bitcoin BTC$65,521.87 market is facing a macro environment unlike any it has encountered in its 17-year existence.

That’s tied to inflation-adjusted returns on bonds. The 30-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Security (TIPS) is now offering a yield of close to 3%, the highest in 17 years, according to TreasuryBonds.com.

“This is one of the greatest wealth preservation opportunities in decades. Investors can lock in nearly 3% annual returns above inflation for the next three decades, backed by the U.S. government,” the site noted.

In traditional markets, bonds are considered safe havens. When a haven asset offers a 3% return in excess of inflation, it raises the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding or riskier assets like gold and bitcoin. But for many, especially in the crypto community, bitcoin’s decentralized and censorship-resistant nature makes it a superior store of value and safe haven – and that argument is not without merit. Housing prices measured in bitcoin, for instance, appear significantly cheaper than when measured in dollars.

Key takeaways

• Zcash (ZEC) is trading above $500 but continues to face selling pressure beneath a descending resistance trendline.
• The token remains above its 50-day EMA at $489 and 200-day EMA at $407, preserving its longer-term bullish structure.
• Technical indicators show mixed signals, with the RSI near neutral and the MACD slipping below zero.

Zcash (ZEC) extended its recent pullback on Thursday, trading above the $500 level as sellers continued to defend a key descending resistance trendline.

Although short-term momentum has weakened, the privacy-focused cryptocurrency remains above important long-term support levels, suggesting that the broader uptrend has not yet been invalidated.

Descending trendline limits upside

ZEC has struggled to overcome a descending trendline that currently sits near $581. Repeated rejections at this resistance level indicate that sellers remain active during rallies, preventing the token from extending its previous bullish advance.

Despite the recent weakness, Zcash continues to trade above both its 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $489 and the 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $407

Holding above these moving averages suggests that buyers still retain control of the longer-term trend, even as short-term momentum cools.

Momentum indicators currently provide a balanced outlook for Zcash. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is hovering around 52, remaining close to the neutral 50 level. This indicates that neither buyers nor sellers have established clear dominance, reflecting a period of consolidation.

Meanwhile, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) has slipped below the zero line, signaling that bullish momentum has weakened in the near term.

While the MACD points to increasing downside pressure, the broader market structure remains constructive as long as key support levels continue to hold.

Key resistance levels

The first major challenge for ZEC is the descending resistance trendline near $581. A successful breakout above this barrier would strengthen the bullish outlook and could pave the way for a retest of the previous swing high around $690.

Reclaiming these levels would signal renewed buying interest and potentially restart the broader uptrend.

On the downside, the 50-day EMA at $489 serves as the most important immediate support.

A sustained move below this level could expose ZEC to additional selling pressure, although the 200-day EMA at $407 remains a strong longer-term support zone that could attract buyers if the correction deepens.

Zcash remains in a healthy long-term uptrend despite its recent pullback. While weakening momentum and resistance around $581 continue to cap gains, the token’s ability to remain above both its 50-day and 200-day EMAs suggests that the broader bullish structure remains intact.

A decisive break above the descending trendline would likely shift momentum back in favor of buyers, while a loss of support at the 50-day EMA could trigger a deeper correction before the next upward move.

Kazakhstan, one of the world’s largest Bitcoin mining hubs, approved a new framework for large-scale crypto mining that links access to electricity with contributions to a state-backed digital asset reserve.

The government approved rules for strategic digital mining on July 18, Kazakhstan-based news outlet Zakon.kz reported Wednesday, citing Government Resolution No. 638 published in the PRG.kz legal database.

The rules define strategic digital mining as a framework that gives miners access to electricity quotas at regulated tariffs in exchange for transferring part of their mined crypto assets to Astana Hub, a government-backed technology cluster.

Kazakhstan ranked fifth globally by Bitcoin mining activity in the Cambridge Digital Mining Industry Report published in April 2025.

New rules set higher bar for strategic miners

Under the new framework, miners seeking strategic status must meet strict infrastructure requirements before receiving approval.

According to Zakon.kz, applicants need to own a digital mining data center with at least 150 megawatts (MW) of capacity and use mining hardware where each unit has a minimum computing power of 150 terahashes per second (TH/s).

Kazakhstan ranked fifth globally by Bitcoin mining activity. Source: Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance.

The rules also require miners to have qualified technical staff, repair facilities at their data centers, multiple internet service contracts and be up to date on required tax and other payments. The government resolution will enter into force on Aug. 1, 2026, according to Zakon.kz.

Miners must transfer part of mined assets

Approved miners must sign agreements with Astana Hub’s autonomous cluster fund and buy electricity from eligible power-generating companies under the new framework.

The rules require miners to transfer part of their mined crypto assets to a reserve mechanism, but they do not specify the share. Local media reports cited a 10% transfer rate, though Cointelegraph could not independently verify that figure.

Source: National Business Kazakhstan/Telegram

The new mining rules build on Kazakhstan’s broader push to develop state-backed digital asset infrastructure. In September 2025, Kazakhstan launched the Alem Crypto Fund, a state-backed vehicle focused on long-term digital asset reserves, with its first investment involving BNB through a partnership with Binance Kazakhstan.

Related: Kazakhstan president signs decree to accelerate crypto adoption

The country has also moved toward wider crypto adoption through regulated financial services. In July 2026, Alatau City Bank and Binance Kazakhstan launched Crypto Pay, a service allowing users to make crypto payments through QR codes and point-of-sale terminals connected to the bank’s acquiring network.

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